The plain truth
by SlamShady
Summary: Squalo never realized how much he meant to Xanxus, until now. XS Xanxus/Squalo *RE-UPLOADED* upon request.


Title: **The plain truth**  
Category: Anime/Manga » Katekyo Hitman Reborn!  
Author: SlamShady  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T  
Genre: Romance/Drama  
Published: 12-01-11, Updated: 12-01-11  
Chapters: 1, Words: 4,749

**[A/N]** - Only after reading and editing this, I realized it might be _too_ romantic for a pairing like XS. Oh well, enjoy. (I'll understand if you don't like it).

**The plot is taken purely from EBIten's masterpiece 'Underwater'.**

******PLEASE READ******: For those people asking, I DID NOT REMOVE THIS FIC. FF decided to remove this story which is why I've changed the rating to M. As I've been getting some PMs requesting to re-upload the story, I'll put it back on.

* * *

'Trash, I'm getting married.' He announced.

Squalo's head snapped around.

'Voi, that's great boss!' He said, ignoring the pang in his heart.

His boss, _his_ Xanxus was getting married...he tried to think positively about the situation, tried to convince himself that he was happy that his boss had finally found someone to love other than him. Finally getting a proper family that Squalo couldn't provide. Did he really, honestly think that they could continue living like this forever? After all, they were both in their mid-twenties now, he was fine single but Xanxus needed an heir to succeed him.

Trying his best to keep a straight face, he smiled at the man in front of him, attempting to look positively unbothered by the news.

'Oi shark, don't get me wrong. It's purely for business...' he asserted. But Squalo didn't register.

* * *

A week passed after than incident, but even though the event bothered Squalo like never before, Xanxus acted as though it had never happened. He still visited Squalo's room at night without permission and stayed there after their rounds of lovemaking. He still stroked Squalo's hair and kissed him gently, almost _affectionately_ when they lay in bed together after a long day. Squalo made no attempt to stop him, he knew he couldn't even if he wanted to and ignored the fact that he was probably just some replacement before Xanxus' fiancee arrives.

He knew that it was only a matter of time before it ended.

'Hey commander Squalo...' Mammon floated in front of him, blocking his view of the TV.

'Voi, move it stupid baby.' Squalo tried to push the arcobaleno out of his way but with no avail.

'Don't let _that_ upset you,' he continued.

Squalo glared at him, what did this baby understand? He sighed and secretly appreciated the fact that Mammon was one of the only members who he could talk to without being laughed at. Despite the baby's usual snobbish manner, he actually cared sometimes and that comforted Squalo.

'Voi...why did he suddenly decide to make this choice?' he mumbled.

He felt it had to be said. He was sick of pretending that he didn't give a fuck about Xanxus. He was sick of hiding the fireworks in his stomach every time his boss looked at him, or touched him. It made him feel ashamed, the state that he - the strongest swordsman in the world, a world class assassin - would be driven to whenever the other man was around. He felt disgusted at the experience but at the same time thrilled and had never desired anything more.

Mammon looked at him questioningly.

'Hasn't he told you already? It's for a family alliance, the only way to stop a potential war between Vongola and the Borcini family. The Tsuna brat said it was the only choice, the head of the other family only acknowledges boss as a suitable candidate for his daughter,' Mammon explained.

'And boss agreed?'

'You and I and all of the Vongola know that if a family war breaks out between us, it's going to result in extremely bad consequences, more so on our side. Just know that boss only agreed to do this because even _he_ appreciates the number of casualties that we could have if he disagrees.'

With that, the illusionist floated away, leaving Squalo to his own thoughts.

Squalo didn't want to admit that he was slightly relieved with what he heard. Xanxus didn't _choose_ to get married, more like he was forced to. But deep inside Squalo, a part of him wanted this relationship to end. He wanted his boss to have a proper lifestyle without relying on him and somehow he thought that maybe being married to the daughter of another powerful family may be good for him.

She can give him something that Squalo would never hope to give. She can replace him as a loyal and dedicated subordinate, and be an obedient wife by looking after Xanxus better than he himself could.

Squalo closed his eyes and lost himself in his thoughts. He hasn't asked Xanxus when exactly the marriage was taking place, had they even decided on a certain date? The engagement was official and his fiancee would be arriving any day now. He would meet her, introduce himself and pretend that his relationship with Xanxus did not exist.

_It's no use_, he thought as he buried his head in his hands, how on earth was he supposed to give up the warmth of Xanxus he so frequently cherished?  
How was he supposed to forget those nights where Xanxus held him? Squalo was competent at hiding his emotions (well some emotions) but he honestly didn't think that he could live a life where Xanxus did not belong to him.

* * *

Another week later, _she_ arrived.

Squalo heard the doorbell ring but definitely wasn't expecting the daughter of Borcini settimo standing at the door. She was gorgeous, he thought, with her shiny blonde curls falling past her shoulder and her slender figure. Her eyes bore a shine that Squalo's never would and her teeth glistened when she smiled at him.

'Ciao, my name is Alessandra,' she said, holding out her hand. 'I'm the daughter of Bernardo Borcini, and Xanxus' fiancee.'

Squalo was slightly taken back at her direct use of the boss' name for he rarely heard it spoken by anyone other than himself. It even _angered_ him a little that the person in front of him had uttered it in such a casual tone. It was a while before he found his voice.

'VOI, I'm Squalo.' He said brusquely. 'Squalo Superbi.'

He wasn't going to lose himself, not in front of this woman.

'May I come in?' She asked. Her voice had a light touch to it, completely opposite of Squalo who was rough in every way possible. 'I would like to see my husband-to-be.'

He nodded, taking all he had to subdue the roaring beast in his stomach at her mention of '_husband-to-be_'. He could have sworn his body was shaking and resisted the strong temptation to slice her head off with the sword attached to his arm. One fluid motion, and Xanxus would be his again. Stiffly, he exercised some self control and stood aside to allow her entry.

'Boss is...not here yet,' he told her, uncontrolled contempt laced in his voice, 'do you want me to show you to his office?'

'That will be fine, thank you Squalo.' She replied smiling, not the least flustered by the rudeness.

Squalo turned his head away, somehow he felt humiliated that the woman he envied so much was saying his name as if she had known him all her life. Besides that, she also wanted to visit his boss' office. No one went into his office without invitation except Squalo and this woman wanted the same authority.

'Voi...do you know how to fight?' The question slipped him before he had time to think. The thought had been bugging him for ages now, and he needed to know. She had to be trained in (or be at least familiar with) combat, the mafia did not hold places for weak people even if she was going to be the wife of one of the strongest hit-men. There's no way Squalo would leave Xanxus in the hands of someone who couldn't even defend herself.

'A bit,' she chuckled, 'my daddy hired people to teach me swordplay since I was five years old.'

So she's a swordsman too, just like he was. The savage beast inside him wanted to challenge her on the spot but he held back.

'By the way, I'm also thinking of joining the Varia once I'm married,' she said.

'Voi.' That was all he said.

It was as though god had sent them a perfect replacement, and for some reason he was going to _let_ her take his position and accept his role to disappear. No fight. Nothing. No doubt that the woman walking behind him will be the next second in command of Varia and he will be forgotten. Maybe even the next sword emperor...

_No_. Squalo wasn't going to give up his title of Second sword emperor without a fight. His pride lay in that title and that defined him as a person.

'Is this it?' She asked, looking at the large double doors in front of her. Squalo woke from his thoughts as he too, stared at the doors in front of him.

'Yeah, just wait in there...'

* * *

Squalo could hear the front door slamming and he knew that Xanxus was back from his mission.

'Ushishi, looks like boss is finally back.' Commented Bel who was sitting beside Squalo, both were in the kitchen waiting for their dinner to be served.

'By the way commander, did you show the girl to her room?' Asked Mammon, standing on the table in front of them.

'Of course I did! Stupid baby.' He snapped.

'Ushishi, it's right next to bosses but I don't think she'll need it.' Bel snickered before he was silenced by Mammon's glare.

Squalo ignored him. A dark figure appeared at the doorway causing all heads to look up except his.

'Shitty boss, your slut came today. She's in your office so don't make her fucking wait.' Despite these words, his eyes remained fixed on the table.

Xanxus grunted and sat on his throne as if he didn't hear his second in command.

'Dinner comes first trash.'

* * *

That night Squalo woke when he heard someone come into his room. He froze automatically as he felt the chilling aura he knew so well..._Xanxus_. The hard thud of boots on the wooden floor further confirmed his suspicions. He sat up as he heard Xanxus kicking his boots off and lying down beside him.

'Boss what the fuck are you doing?' He whispered.

Sure he was used to Xanxus making these visits to his room but right now, circumstances were different.

The raven ignored his second in command and instead, grabbed his body roughly and planted a kiss on the shark.

'Mmph..shouldn't you be doing this to _her_?' Squalo refused to use her name because that meant that he acknowledged her, which he didn't. He had no idea how their first meeting went, he couldn't hear anything from downstairs so he assumed it must have gone right.

'Don't question me scum,' was the raven's reply as he began undressing the silver haired man.

Squalo tried to keep as quiet as possible when they did it that night, something that he normally didn't bother doing. The older man, as if he had read Squalo's mind did it differently this time, he was rougher yet never holding back his affection and the shark couldn't help but yell as his backside was attacked. He didn't know what Xanxus' intentions were and why he wanted him to yell, especially when Alessandra was sleeping on the floor above and well within earshot.  
Nevertheless, it felt ten times better than it usually did.

Squalo woke up the next morning in an empty bed. Memories of last night flooded into his mind as he got up and dressed, he couldn't help shivering about how good he felt but also wondered if _she_ had heard them. He could hear noises downstairs, clearly everyone had woken up except him.

When he made his way down to the kitchen, he was greeted by the rest of the Varia and Alessandra.

To his surprise, she was sitting in the chair directly opposite Xanxus at the other end of the table. Squalo's usual seat still belonged to him, for now.

'Morning trash.' His boss said without removing his eyes from the newspaper he was reading.

'M-morning,' he stuttered. This was the first time Xanxus ever greeted anyone. He looked quickly at Alessandra but she was eating her breakfast normally, clearly she didn't learn anything about the Varia boss at all. He wondered if Xanxus even spoke to her during their meeting.

Ignoring the extremely happy feeling in his stomach, he too gulped down his breakfast. Funny how such a small gesture from his boss could drive him to this point.

Xanxus went to his room again that night but this time they didn't fuck. All he did was fall asleep on the silver haired man. Squalo stayed awake and played with the dangling feathers on the soft black hair that belonged to his boss, holding him close and cherishing the moment in case it was the last.

The next day Squalo personally witnessed his boss and Alessandra talking at the dinner table. He listened closely and it sounded more like she was the one talking and being ignored. He was helping Lussuria organize food in the kitchen when he caught a glimpse of them through the small gap in the doorway.

He saw Alessandra get up and attempt to hold Xanxus in her arms. The monster inside him roared in anger as he had the urge to kick open the door and personally beat the shit out of the woman but that urge died as soon as he saw Xanxus push her away, and roughly at that. Smirking to himself he continued to make Xanxus' favorite steak but in a much better mood.

Days passed slower than usual. Sometimes he (and the rest of the Varia) would witness more attempts from Alessandra to seduce their bad tempered boss, but all he did was pretend that she wasn't there and continued to do whatever he was doing. Sometimes, when Xanxus suddenly decided to kiss him or grab his hair affectionately, Squalo wondered if she noticed.

He repeatedly told Xanxus what he thought about this but all he would get was a '_shut the fuck up scum_' from the latter.

It was really as though Alessandra wasn't there at all.

And then the time came. He had been expecting this ever since the first night she got here.

'Squalo, may I please talk to you for a moment?' It was the second time she spoke to him, and she still used his name in that same annoying manner.

He had just returned from a mission and judging by the silence, the rest of the Varia were away and busy. Neither he nor Alessandra noticed Xanxus' presence behind the half open door outside of Squalo's room.

'Voi?' He asked, but he already knew what she was going to say.

'I just wanted you to understand that...' the lightness in her voice was gone now, replaced by solidity, 'Xanxus and I are to be married soon, and when that happens we'll be living together...just hoping you'd realize what this means, he's going to have a family now. They told me he had a bad temper, and I would have to deal with many things but I wasn't quite expecting this...just know what you are doing to him...'

She looked at him full in the face and he returned the look. She wasn't straightforward like him, but he was certain of the hidden meaning behind those words: _either he leaves or she does_.

For a fleeting moment he wanted to yell at her and tell her to fuck the hell off and stop meddling with their relationship but then he remembered. He remembered the war that would break out if he gave into his selfishness and knew that this was the sign for him to leave.

Slowly, he nodded.

'I understand.'

* * *

'VOI! Boss, I'm going to Sawada's.'

Xanxus' expression gave away nothing.

'Without my fucking permission?'

Squalo laughed, but it was forced.

'Who needs your permission? I'm going to train with that katana brat for a while and you should spend more time with Alessandra when I'm gone.'

It killed him as he said it but he was the only one who understood Xanxus. He wanted the best for him and the 'best' did not include Squalo himself.

Xanxus grunted in annoyance at the mention of Yamamoto like he always did.

'How long?' He asked, his tone implying that wasn't really interested but asked only for the sake of it. His true feelings disagreed.

'Vooi, I don't know...' Squalo replied, _maybe forever_. He turned around and made his way out and onto the private jet waiting, dragging his luggage with him.

Xanxus said nothing.

* * *

When he arrived in Japan, he was greeted warmly by Tsuna and his guardians. He stayed in their mansion which held a much friendlier atmosphere than the gloomy headquarters of Varia and sparred daily with Yamamoto.

Yelling at these brats while teaching them about the ways of the mafia was a good method, in Squalo's opinion, to forget about everything that had happened. Despite their annoyed remarks about his voice or his teaching methods, it was clear that they respected him greatly and this made him happy. As much as he would hate to admit, those brats did make him feel needed and irreplaceable.

Before he knew it, a week passed and another and another. They were improving greatly and so was he. Knowing that the day when he had to fight Alessandra would surely come, he practiced harder than ever, developing new techniques while improving his old ones along the way.

But no matter what he did, the emptiness in his heart could not be filled. He missed his boss and everything about him. Even though it had only been a month, nothing compared to the eight years he waited before, the pain was no less.

He cursed himself for checking his phone everyday, hoping to find a message from Xanxus telling him to '_get the fuck back_' but he knew it was futile. He wanted to see the tanned, scarred face and the deep red eyes he grew attached to so much, in the end resorting to flipping through picture over picture on his phone. The snaps he took when the other man wasn't looking, they were the closest thing to 'Xanxus' he got in this slow and barren month.

No messages could only mean that Xanxus fully accepted Alessandra as his 'new' second in command.

He had frequent texts from the other members (even Levi), they at least sounded like they were missing him. He was secretly grateful.

* * *

'VOOOI trash, don't get cocky just because you've landed a hit,' he snapped, striking his opponent with a wooden stick at godspeed.

'Aah, Squalo give me a break already, I'm tired!' The black haired boy replied, taking a seat on the grass.

'You lazy shit! Get your ass up and fight!' To be honest, Squalo was tired too but he would never admit it.

Before he could scold Yamamoto further, Tsuna came running down to the sparring field bringing unexpected news.

'Squalo-san, Yamamoto! Did you hear? Xanxus is going to have his wedding in a week! And we're all invited to his celebration party in two days!'

'Awesome!' Cried Yamamoto, jumping up instantly.

'Voi, that's good...' said Squalo. His boss was finally getting married, he had finally forgotten about Squalo and chosen a new life.

He had finally loved someone else.

* * *

The celebration party was to be held in the Varia mansion, the bride-to-be was going to arrive later in the day, accompanied by her bridesmaids. Squalo wandered near the front lawn in his expensive black suit as he observed the guests talking and chatting with each other. He never dreamed that the Varia mansion would be decorated in this manner (Lussuria's work no doubt) and filled with so many people.

Walking around he tried to find his team but could only spot Lussuria and Levi. Bel, Fran and Mammon were missing and when he asked, he was told that they were on a mission and would be attending the party later.

He couldn't spot Xanxus either but assumed that he was locked up in his office, he hated this stuff after all, the party was probably Lussuria's idea in the first place. He lost track of time as the day went on, still not a glimpse of his beloved boss.

Being bored of the outside, he walked inside the mansion to find groups of people quietly lounging around and chatting. There he settled himself on one of the large sofas in the corner of the room and closed his eyes. The clock on the wall showed three which meant that only three hours had passed since he arrived. Before he could relax further a voice woke him from his dreams, the same voice that he craved to hear for so long.

'You came scum.'

Squalo jumped and met two ruby orbs gazing back at him.

'Voi...Xanxus.' He wanted to throw his arms around the man in front of him, for more than a month he had purposely denied himself of this man's presence. To see him so suddenly was too much for Squalo to bear.

Xanxus wore a black suit decorated with gold chains, Squalo thought he looked much better than his usual attire of the loose tie and white dress shirt.

'Finally getting married huh...?'

The Varia boss ignored the statement and took Squalo in his arms possessively but Squalo fought back this time.

'Voi, cut it out you stupid shit. You're getting married, try to act like it!' He spat, but his body craved for Xanxus to hold him more.

Before the taller man could make a response, the door burst open and five men entered, looking frantic. The tallest one came toward Xanxus while his followers made their ways to each conversation group, informing them of something. Screams and sobs from outside could be heard, everyone was suddenly moving around frantically and trying to get out.

The tall man spoke to Squalo and Xanxus in an urgent tone.

'Master Xanxus, we were checking on Mistress Alessandra but...' he closed his eyes, 'there has been a tragic accident, on our way we found her along with her bridesmaids. They were...' The man gave a sigh and took out a photo.

Squalo froze as he looked at the picture. On the floor lying face down in a pool of blood was Alessandra, it was a gruesome sight even for him. Her skin had gaps, as if somebody took a knife and cut chunks off, her limbs were twisted in odd directions and parts of her scalp were missing.

He looked at Xanxus who was expressionless.

The tall man continued, 'You are the only one to see this picture, we couldn't show something this horrible to the guests...'

'Get the fuck out of my sight,' snarled Xanxus.

The man bowed, gave the picture to Squalo and took his leave.

Squalo was speechless, it all came too suddenly. What shocked him more was the fact that Xanxus was acting as if the news didn't bother him the slightest. His boss usually kept his emotions hidden but Squalo had thought he would at least show a _bit_ of compassion, especially considering the circumstances.

He turned his attention back to the photo and noticed something as he observed the cuts on her body.

Those cuts, _that shape...that style_, his eyes widened as he took the information in. Those marks could only belong to...

_Bel_. He knew, he has seen that kid's victims more than anyone else, those marks were too similar to be a coincidence.

Then it all came to him and he knew the reason behind Bel, Fran and Mammon's absences.

* * *

'VOOI, you...you ordered this!' He gasped, eyes wide with shock and glaring at the man who looked as if nothing had happened.

'So what if I did,' he replied, he sounded _bored_ even.

Squalo had never remembered feeling so confused.

'But...why?' He said weakly and felt the other man move.

Again, Xanxus took the swordsman in his arms, holding him tightly and gazing intensely at the silver orbs.

'That bitch tried to take you away from me,' he said. And Squalo took in every word. 'I'll fucking destroy anyone who does that.'

Xanxus leaned forward and took Squalo's mouth in his. This time the Varia commander didn't resist, nor did he complain. All he could think of were the words that were just uttered to him, the solid confirmation that his boss needed him more than anything else.

'Voi, I thought you loved her,' Squalo whispered, melting in the touch.

Xanxus drew back and glared again, this time it was rage that filled his eyes the deepest red.

'You fucking piece of shit,' he growled in Squalo's ear, 'don't you dare think I'll love anyone else.'

'What about the war then? You selfish bastard...' he knew he was being a jerk but he wanted to hear that angry voice. He wanted that rage he was deprived of for so long.

'Those scums from the Borcini family don't know I did this, but if they declare a war then we'll fucking show them who they're messing with.'

And Squalo agreed with him. He was stupid for failing to see the plain truth for so long, the fact that Xanxus indeed needed him. He cursed inwardly for not realizing earlier, that he should have cut the bitch's head off the moment she decided to interfere with his life.

'One month trash...I've missed you.'

That's right, he thought, if it was for Xanxus, he'd fight a thousand wars if he had to.

~~~ End ~~~

* * *

**{A/N}** - The concept of Xanxus killing his fiancee for Squalo is really really appealing.


End file.
